White House Signals Veto of Reg Reform Bills

The White House signaled Tuesday the President would likely veto Republican-backed bills putting analytical and procedural requirements on agencies before they can approve new regulations.

The House Rules Committee met Tuesday to establish the rules for consideration of both the Unfunded Mandates Information and Transparency Act of 2015 (H.R. 50) and the Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act of 2015 (H.R. 527).

Republicans have been pushing for applying economic cost-benefit analysis on new regs, including from the FCC.

"The Administration is committed to ensuring that regulations are smart and effective, that they are tailored to advance statutory goals in the most cost-effective and efficient manner, and that they minimize uncertainty," said the Executive Office of the President in signaling a veto. "H.R. 527, the Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act, would impose unneeded and costly analytical and procedural requirements on agencies that would prevent them from performing their statutory responsibilities."

As to H.R. 50, EOB said: "The Administration is committed to ensuring that regulations are tailored to advance statutory goals in a manner that is efficient and cost-effective, and that minimizes uncertainty. By layering on additional, burdensome judicial review and other unnecessary changes to the regulatory process, H.R.50, the Unfunded Mandates Information and Transparency Act of 2015, would introduce needless uncertainty into agency decision-making and undermine the ability of agencies to provide critical public health and safety protections."

Public Citizen is no fan of either bill. Of the H.R. 527, Public Citizen president Robert Weissman said: “This bill has nothing to do with responding to real small business concerns and everything to do with advancing the big business anti-regulation agenda.”

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.